Chapter Three - Ryder
CHAPTER THREE
Ryder
Present
“It’s been two weeks since the factory night, and we still haven’t found any indication that Mason Consoli’s efforts were supported by a leak in our supply chain.
It’s still early, so we’ll keep looking, but we may need to consider that he really did have his own connections,” Kade, our head of cybersecurity, says from my side.
Donovan sits in the seat that used to be mine—at Moreno’s right hand—and Alec and Jay fill the seats on his other side. The last seat at the table is to Moreno’s left and occupied by Elli.
She sends me sad looks from across the table, but other than that, no physical signs hint at the palpable tension weighing down the room. No one mentions why this meeting differs from the others, but that doesn’t make the reason any less noticeable.
Donovan shakes his head. “It wouldn’t have been the most logical option. He was already balancing his work as a capo for the Consolis and his undercover work for us. The chances that he had the time to find his own suppliers and funding are minimal.”
If I wasn’t sitting directly across from Elli, I might’ve missed her shoulders tense at that.
Elise is the only daughter of the late Gabriel Consoli—boss of the Consoli criminal family. She’s not only the newest Moreno capo—she’s also Joshua’s fiancée.
She’s the first female capo in our family and in any of the five major American Mafia families. News of this recent development is still making its way to the other families, but so far, most aren’t happy about it.
Considering the alliance we’ve established with Logan Consoli—one of Elli’s brothers and the newly appointed boss of their family—we’re not worried about any wars starting over it.
What we are worried about is cleaning up the mess that is—as we’ve come to refer to it—the factory night.
Two weeks ago, Mason Consoli—another of Elise’s brothers who worked undercover for us—lured both our families to a factory where he tried to kill us all in his attempt at a power grab.
His efforts failed, leaving us with two jobs: finding the traitors within each family who aligned themselves with Mason and finding where he received his funding and supplies.
The Consoli family is taking point on the first task because Mason would’ve done most of his communication from their main base in Chicago.
The Moreno family is taking on the second task since the factory he lured us to was local to Los Angeles, giving us reason to believe Mason exploited leaks from our bases to build his army.
“All I’m saying is that we may need to take a different course of action,” Kade says.
“What are you suggesting?” Moreno asks with a frustrated edge.
It’s the first thing he’s said since this meeting started, and I have no illusions as to why he’s brooding in silence.
It’s because I’m here.
At the few meetings I’ve been invited to in the last two weeks, Moreno has rarely said a word and none directly to me.
Not that I can blame him.
“All we’ve done so far is look at each base’s financial report as a big picture, and since that hasn’t shown us anything useful, it might be time to dig deeper.
We should schedule a trip to each base to get a closer look at how things are running.
Being there in person might give us a better chance of locating these leaks. ”
Moreno rubs the spot between his eyes with a sigh, then waves to Donovan.
Don raises a brow, looking to me for translation. Not wanting to give it verbally, I gesture to my phone, hoping that’s enough of an answer.
Only a second passes before Don seems to get it. “Right, yeah. Okay, let’s get those trips on the calendar.”
I lower my head in confirmation that he did fine, and his lips tilt in a small smile.
“We just need to make progress before Consoli does,” Moreno says, dropping his fist to the table with a thud. “Bastard can’t finish before we do.”
“Joshua,” Elli scolds, “that’s my brother you’re talking about.”
“As if I could forget,” he mutters.
The Consolis and Morenos have been enemies for years. They are only recently on good terms because of Elli, but that doesn’t mean Joshua and Logan are friendly with each other.
They are not.
I breathe a laugh at Elli’s scowl, which is enough to bring back her smile. Moreno, on the other hand, looks at me for the first time since coming into this room, but it’s only to send me a scathing glare.
“Let’s go over the responsibilities one last time, and we’ll be done,” Moreno spits in a cold, detached tone.
The atmosphere shifts from tense to suffocating. No one dares look in my direction to associate the tension with its cause.
“I’ll be taking over all underboss responsibilities,” Donovan says with a hint of discomfort, and though I have no right to resent him for taking the job that I’ve had for years, a small part of me can’t help it.
“Elli will take base management from Alec so he can oversee all security in my place. Jay will be running recruitment training, and Kade will retain all of his current cybersecurity duties.”
Most of the capos nod their agreement, and though Elli rolls her eyes instead, she doesn’t speak up about her frustration.
“Questions or clarification needed?” Moreno asks the group.
When no one speaks up, Moreno pushes to his feet, leans to kiss Elli just long enough to make everyone uncomfortable, and straightens.
“This meeting is over,” he says before striding out of the room without a glance back.
The slam of that door echoes like the tragic ending that it is.
“When do you leave?” Donovan asks, and the other capos look at me expectantly.
I clear my throat. “Now, actually.”
“What?” Elli’s eyes widen. “I thought you weren’t leaving until tomorrow.”
“Since this meeting was pushed forward, I don’t have a reason to stay. The car’s all packed up.”
The silence in the room carries a physical weight like everyone has something to say, but no one can find the words.
Not that it matters. Nothing can change the situation. This is the way things are.
My goodbyes to Donovan and Kade are short and straight to the point, which I appreciate. It’s when I get to Alec that my throat tightens.
Alec was named a capo at nineteen years old—the youngest in the history of our family. Now, at twenty-two, he’s one of the best men I’ve ever worked with.
“You’re the reason Mr. Moreno even considered me for a capo position,” he says thoughtfully. “I owe you a lot.”
The words hit me harder than I’ll ever admit, and he lets me pull him into a quick hug. Alec is a good kid, arguably too good to work in this business.
“You earned your place here,” I tell him, taking a step back. “You would’ve been made a capo either way.”
He gives me a disbelieving look but doesn’t bother arguing the point.
Jay, Alec’s uncle, steps up next. He’s the spitting image of his nephew—scruffy, dark hair, and green eyes—only older and heavyset. “Take care, Ryder.”
“I’ll see you guys soon,” I tell them, though we all know it might not be true.
Then I watch as the men I see as family walk out the door. At least I actually got to say goodbye to them.
I haven’t talked to Moreno in weeks.
“He’ll come around, you know. Eventually.” I turn to face Elli, who’s looking up at me with a mixture of anger and sadness.
I’ve known Moreno most of my life, and he’s only ever softened for the girl standing in front of me. For anyone else, myself included, the chances of him coming around are slim to none.
“His anger is justified. He can take all the time he needs.”
Her sadness fades, and anger fills the void, creasing her delicate features with a glare. “You should’ve tried harder. You didn’t even defend yourself.”
“There’s nothing to defend. I betrayed him,” I remind her.
And I did.
Because when Mason Consoli launched his attack two weeks ago, he kidnapped Rachel and our daughter, Lyla, to use as leverage against me.
If I hadn’t done what he wanted, he would’ve killed them.
So, I did the only thing I could to save them—I abducted Elli so Mason could use her as bait for both families.
If I had any other choice, I never would’ve done it, but I didn’t.
Elli forgave me immediately and hasn’t once held my actions against me, but Moreno was less forgiving.
A betrayal like mine should’ve ended with a bullet in my head—a fate I accepted when I chose to save Lyla and Rachel—but Moreno didn’t kill me.
It could be argued that he understands why I did what I did, but I know better.
The only reason he didn’t give me the slow, painful death I deserve is that Elli never would’ve forgiven him for it.
So, instead of going to an early grave, I’ve been transferred to the base located in Sacramento. It’s far enough away that Moreno will have the space he needs not to kill me but close enough that I can return if needed.
It’s also where my daughter lives, meaning, for the first time in her three-year life, I’ll actually be living with her.
I’ve accepted this punishment since there are fates far worse than banishment, but Elli isn’t convinced.
“You only did it to protect your family. I don’t understand why we can’t just move on,” she huffs, folding her arms—one of which is still bandaged from a wound she suffered the factory night—over her chest.
My insistence won’t change her mind, so I take a different approach.
“This isn’t just about what I’ve done. It’s about spending more time with Lyla. She’s been through a lot, and she’s going to need the support of both her parents right now.”
As I suspected, Elli doesn’t argue this.
She and Rachel met a few days after the factory night and became fast friends.
They talk often enough for Elli to know that Lyla has become overly clingy and anxious as a result of what she went through.
Not even she can deny that my daughter needs me right now, which makes having to leave marginally easier.
The fight leaves Elli with a sigh.